Australia - In April 2013 at the 1st Australia Steelband Festival, the world got a glimpse into the tremendous progress pan has made on the distant shores of Australia, New Zealand and even Oman.
There one witnessed wonderful pan performances of several steelbands including Pantastic, Rivercity Steel Band, Cairns Pan Stars Steel Orchestra, and also Carnival parades, goat racing, and high quality entertainment. Since that time, other steelbands have been formed such as Perth Pandemix and CaribVic Steelband, and still others are in the making. As a result of the impetus provided by the festival, the steelbands in Australia and New Zealand have recently been organising themselves for the future.
- An association for pan in Australia and New Zealand, PANZ, has now been formed
- A new website is now up and running
- PANZ has embarked over several months to focus on a Strategic Plan which describes the status of bands in Australia and New Zealand, and details priority actions for the future. This Strategic Plan has been finalised and can be viewed here. It will be reviewed annually for updating and looking forward for a period of 5 years.
- A second Festival is being planned for the last quarter of 2015, building on the tremendous success of the first Festival held in Marysville in April 2013.
There is no doubt that with some willingness, and spirit, and some organisation as shown in PANZ, that there can be a momentum to move forward while preserving the history and evolution of pan in Trinidad and in this region. The networking is quite good, and in time the Festival will be a unifying event not only for the bands in Australia and New Zealand, but perhaps the world. While Australia and New Zealand still have yet to discover this instrument, in its relatively early stages of growth in the region, once again Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument is finding a place in the hearts of many.
by Mark Loquan
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